Right, Left
by ShadowofaHeart
Summary: "He gave her a gentle smile. 'It'll be alright... I'll be with you.' 'After all, I promised, didn't I'" Two halves of the same whole, destined to be together, yet separated by fate. LenxRin


**Right, Left**

_**Two halves of one whole... destined to be together, separated by fate...**_

"_Hey, Len?" Rin asked timidly, looking up at her best friend._

_Len met her gaze, smiling back down at her. "Yeah, Rin?"_

"_Promise me something..."_

"_Anything."_

"_We'll always be together."_

_Len looked shocked for a moment, then grinned and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he chuckled. "I promise. I'll always be with you, Rin."_

The blonde fourteen year old stared wide-eyed at the mirror in front of her, not believing what her eyes told her was true. She pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the quick beating underneath it. It couldn't be true, could it? This was just some joke, right? A dream, a _nightmare, _and she'd wake up and be fine and...

She pinched her arm and winced. Not a dream. Reality. Sick, terrible reality.

"_L-Len? What are you- You're going to get caught in here!" Rin half-whispered, half-yelled at him, sitting up in her bed._

_He chuckled, locking the door behind him and pulling the curtains of her window closed. Still, even in the darkness, she could still see his almost hypnotizing sapphire eyes, watching her._

"_And then what? They'll arrest me? Kill me? For what? Visiting my best friend?" He shook his head, grinning._

"_Servants aren't allowed in my room at this hour, and you know it!"_

_Len stopped, his bangs now hiding his eyes from her. "...Is that all I am to you, Princess? A servant?"_

"_O-Of course not, Len, you know that..." Rin stood, slipping out of the covers to stand in front of him. She gently took his larger hands in hers, placing them to her heart. She smiled up at him sadly, and his eyes widened with realization._

"_...You mean so much more to me..." she whispered, suddenly avoiding his gaze. His lips twitched, threatening a smile as he cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at him._

"_And you mean everything to me, Rin."_

Rin took a shaky step forward, eyes on the mirror, yet away from the reflection. She couldn't look at it... at _him_... not yet. She knew she'd burst into tears if she looked again into his eyes... The painful truth would hit her like a thousand road rollers...

_Len's eyes widened as he reread the letter. Frantic, he looked up at her, hoping... _praying... _that it was all a joke. But the look in her eyes said enough... confirming her written words. This was goodbye. She smiled stiffly, refusing to cry, and turned to leave._

"_...W-Wait!" he cried, reaching out to her though the fence separated them. She froze, but didn't turn around. It was the first word he had spoken to her... the first spoken words between the two of them at all._

"_I... I'll wait for you!" he continued. "Until you come back... or when I get out, I'll find you! I promise!"_

_He couldn't see her face, but knew she was crying by the way her shoulders shook. He bit his lip, worried. What was there to cry about?_

_Finally, she shook her head, mumbled something he couldn't catch, and ran without looking back. He sighed and sank to the ground, letting the tears fall now that she was gone._

_He didn't even know her name..._

She lifted her hand, hesitated, then pressed it against the mirror. He copied her, just like a reflection, his palm against hers. Even with the glass between them, they could practically feel each other, as if they were in the same room. It didn't seem possible, this cruel twist of fate, but there it was in front of her. There _he_ was...

"Len..."

_Len watched from behind the tree, his eyes following her every movement. It took all of his self-control to stay there and not take Rin into his arms and make her his right there and then. He knew he couldn't do that. They were forbidden. He also knew she returned the feelings, though, and for now, that satisfied him._

_But he couldn't stop himself from speaking to her, just to hear her voice again. "...Isn't it dangerous for you to be wandering around the woods alone? You could get hurt."_

_She stopped in the middle of the path and responded without turning. "I can't take care of myself, thank you."_

_A smile overtook his lips at the sound of her voice. "Perhaps I could accompany you to wherever you are headed?" he offered, though he knew it would be refused._

_Sure enough, she shook her head, but, he noted, after a moment's hesitation. "You expect me to trust a complete stranger?"_

_He chuckled. "I don't think I could be classified as a complete stranger... After all, Rin... I know your name." He paused. "...And you know mine."_

_She sighed, her shoulders hunching over. "Len..." she breathed. "You know we can't..."_

"_Just to the edge of the woods," he insisted. "Then I'll leave."_

_It tore him apart when she shook her head again, though he knew it would happen. "No, I'm sorry. I must be going now... Goodbye." Rin hurried off, leaving him behind._

_Len sighed as he leaned against the tree, eyes still not leaving her. "...Bye, Rin..."_

"_I love you..."_

Their noses pressed against the glass, their breath fogging the mirror. Equally blue eyes locked with each other, full of love for the other. His blonde hair was still pulled into a small ponytail, his bangs spiking at odd angles. Her hair was still cut choppily at her shoulder, a big white bow resting on the top of her head. They took each other in, trying to comprehend.

Finally, after eons of silence, Rin spoke, her voice hoarse: "...Right."

Len, on the other side of the mirror, started to smile, eyes shining. "Left," he answered confidently.

She allowed herself to smile, even as a tear slid down her cheek. "Promise me something, Len?"

"Hmm?"

"We'll meet again..."

He chuckled, leaning his head on his side of the glass. "Promise."

"_'I'm afraid of monsters?' Isn't that childish, my Princess?" Len teased. He lost his smirk when he saw her tear-stained face, and gently wiped them away. He gave her a gentle smile. "It'll be alright... I'll be with you."_

"_After all, I promised, didn't I?"_


End file.
